This is Tigger, my baby. I have no children of my own, so she is literally my baby, and has soaked many of my tears in her fur. She's 11 1/2

She's in a kitty hospital right now - she developed Jaundice. She'll be there for a few days, with a feeding tube in her.  We don't know what caused it yet and if she'll pull through.

Well, both, Tigger and I could use some good wishes and kind words. I keep thinking I'll never see her again, and it's devastating.

I've been crying for good 4-5 hours, since this morning when I dropped her off at the vet. I'm hoping to hear from them today on her progress.

Thanks :(

Hi sweety .. im not into praying, but with all my Cat / animal loving vibe in my body im so hoping all will be well for tigger..
I know for 100% how you feel "filling the same kind of shoe's"

My toughts are with you

Greeting
Chris

Prayers have been sent.  Keep me posted.

Hi Connie,

We always had cats (and dogs) in our family and we know how it hurts when one of them got sick or passed away. They are always a member of the family and me and  especially my wife are just as fond of them as we are of our kids.
We used to have a big, red tomcat who got over twenty years old and allthough I'm not a very emotional man, I cried when he died.

I hope your Tigger will be better and she will be at least as old as our tomcat.

best wishes,

Bopper.

I'm sending out lots and lots of positive vibes for you and your sweet baby, Tigger!  Chynna sends "nose kisses."

Hi Connie huney
Me and my 5 kittes are praying for ya and Tigger...... Lots of love too coming ur way xoxox

Susie, Scamp, Sadie, Sandy and the deliquent Sammy all send their huggles too xox

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm sending lots of prayers and good thoughts your way

Fingers and toes crossed here, too, Connie. Roxi, Brie, Lily and  Jackie Chan send kitty kisses for you and Tigger.

Thoughts and prayers for you and Tigger this day.

cheers,
dr geep
;=]

aww dr geep thats so thoughtful and beautiiful!

Awww, thank you guys, this is so sweet and touching!  Dr Geep.. I don't even know what to say sniffle.
My honey is doing a good job at comforting me too.

I did hear from the vet not too long ago, and he is reassuring me that she will pull through just fine. They have her intubated and sedated. They ran her blood count and ruled out couple serious things, like spleen rupture, anemias, advanced cancers.  He says he's pretty confident her kidneys are in a good shape, but more tests tomorrow.

He says that she'll likely go home on Monday, but we're not completely out of the woods untill we know what caused it. She'll have a feeding tube for 3-8 weeks, depending on how long her recovery takes.

After talking to the Vet, I think Tigger is doing better then I am!

My other kitty, gray Taby - Bubba, whom is usually Mr. Leave me alone is staying close to me. He knows something is up. He too usually dotes on his sister, Tigger. He gets all upset when she is out of the house, goes mrowling and looking for her - even if she's with me.

You guys, Thank You, Thank You Thank You so much - and so does Tiggers. Love you all!

Thank you Louise.

Conniekat8, don't say anything.  Just get Tigger back home ASAP so you'll both feel better.
(been there, done that, so I know)

Ah Connie you're welcome.  So everything's gonna be OK,  then?

Try to feed her raw fish innards (the bloody and bitter part that we don't eat). I knew a cat so healthy and fat because of it.

I'm glad your cat is going to get better.  I know the feeling of worrying about a pet who's gotten sick.

hope your Tigger gets well soon. it is awful when a friend is ill.
i lost my last one to FIV. my Demelza has had every jab the vets supply and i take her back for boosters every year, pricy but worth it. cats are very sensitive to emotion and will usually try to comfort anyone they consider family.
my thoughts are with you and Tigger.
(Demelza sends her love to Tigger)

Quote - Ah Connie you're welcome.  So everything's gonna be OK,  then?

She's not out of the woods till Monday, but the Vet says she's responding good so far.  I was still balling and sniffling when he called - and he did a good job at reassuring me that yes, I will see her again, and with TLC, she's very likely to pull through.

I can't believe I didn't see her turning yellow sooner.  Over last few days she's been eating less and less, and sleeping more and more, but in a pretty subtle way. It's crossed my mind to take her in yesterday, but she didn't seem that sick.

This morning, she didn't get up for her food at all, didn't even take a good look at me offering it - so I knew something was really wrong. When I was at Vet's parking lot, the skin of her inner ears looked yellow - that's the first time I saw it. By how much of it there was, the Vet thinks it's been a day or two she had it already, and she wouldn't have made it much longer without treatment.

I can't believe I didn't notice it yesterday - I was checking her all over - twice, to see if her teeth or a respiratory infection aren't the cause of her eating very little. Yellowness doesn't exactly stand out on a black kitty with dark skin - but still, I dote on her, I can't believe I didn't see it sooner.

The doc says she most likely has Feline Hepatic Lipidosis - which is one of the more benign causes of jaundice - rather then other illnesses that can cause it. It happens when overweight cats stop eating (much) for a day or two, and their metabolisam pulls too much fat out of their cells, and overwhelms th liver. She may be developing diabetis. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_hepatic_lipidosis

I'm doing a lot better now, then when I initially posted. I was reading about feline jaundice, and it says that about 40% of the cats don't pull through.

So, the doc says that with her health history (which is pretty good, except for having gotten chubby in last couple of years) she should do just fine pulling out of jaundice. We still need to figure out why it happened, so it doesn't happen again.

We still need to figure out why she all of a sudden cut down on her eating so much. Usually it's a battle to keep her weight down. Even sick the way she was this morning, she wanted to eat, but the poor thing was acting to exhausted to chew or lap her milk.

Blah, I'm rambling, I hope what I wrote makes sense... I'm feeling shellshocked.

Edit: BTW, I do get panic attacks on occasion, and this definately triggered one - earlier, before I was reassured she'll pull through.

whew This is sounding much better. All my kitties thank you soooo much (not) for giving mom the notion to pull their eyelids open to check the white parts.  As you know, cats are very good at hiding being sick until it's bad enough to scare you. 

Here's hoping Monday you have a kitty who is completely miffed with you and Bubba for invading her space and pestering her, and washing compulsively to get the icky "vet smell" off. 

Thanks scanmead :)
Yes, I didn't have a clue she was as sick as she was. Driving her to the ver, I was feeling a little bit like a paranoid mother cat. They didn't have any appointments today, so I had to drop her off, then wait in the neighborhood for three hours (my favorite vet is almost 30 miles away)...

Then he barely had time to see her a little bit, and got all serious, saying she's going to need a feeding tube and ... I dunno, once I realized it was serious, it was all a blur.  Driving home I finally broke down. My honey was too cute, he knew I was going to be out if it, came running out to the car as I was pulling in...

What a day, first half a day I spent waiting to see when they can squeeze in, from about 9am to 2PM, then from 2PM till 7PM when the vet called me with better news, I spent balling.
And I have a nasty cold - I'll probably collapse later, still all adrenaline right now.

Silly kitty, she has a little bit of a chronic digestion issue, and, right now we're hoping that's what caused her to not eat... but it was so gradual.  Usually she gets her diet portion, then I have to keep her off her brother's food. (otherwise she'll cut in, and he'll back off and let her).   And every coule of hours she's hamming it up for treats, and giving me th stink eye that she's not getting them, and trying all kinds of things to get them.

She gradually went from that to not eating all of her food, then to barely touching it, and my force feeding her yesterday to put something in her. She'd still want to eat, but would only do a bite or two, then want to rest. Maybe I dodn't notice it as much because I was sick too, I spent most of the day yesterday getting over the cold/flu aches and pains.

Blah blah, sorry, I'm still rambling.
I can't wait to get her home, silly little kitty. Poor thing she doesn't get her bed and a snuggly cover... I gather she's sedated and intubated, so she's probably not noticing much - I hope.

She can be quite the little ham when it comes to sleeping and frolicking - she has a masters degree in it!

This is her passed out penguin impersonation.

And, OMG, when I dropped her off, and the nurse took her in, sh gave me such a wide eyed, Mommy, what are you doing to me look.  shudder  Major guilt trip.

It's always hit me harder when little critters suffer, then people. I guess with people I seem to think there's more understanding and help. Little critters like that, they are like little children, they trust you unconditionally - and in case of pets, it's their whole life.  They don't grow up and move away and have their own life, their whole life is with you.

Speaking of Bubba, I think he noticed something was wrong with her before I did. Looking back at it, last few days he was way too insistant on being nosey around her, and trying to lick her (to which she'd promptly swat him after three licks, like she usually does)

I'm all with you BadKitteh! , hope your Tiger wil get better and wish he'll be back at home very soon ! A kiss on his nose from me and a gentle lick on his ears from Chat Moche and Petit Minet - you frenchies don't laugh about its name !

Hi Connie, 

Sending all of our healing vibes from our house to Tigger! We know just how you feel.  Our kitty, doggie and nine birds are all our children and it hurts everytime something goes wrong with them.

It sounds like the vet has it under control :)

I know what you mean about missing the signs and symptoms.  Sometimes we are so close to them that we really don't notice. Been there done that before, so don't beat yourself up about it :) 

Our prayers and thoughts are with you and Tigger! Chin up girl, it'll be all okay and she'll be home soon, with Mommy right by her side spoiling her rotten :)

HUGS

Deb

All the best to you and your kitty - I lost my old cat year before last and due to my poor financial situation, couldn't take her to any vet. I just had to watch - well, you know.

Glad yours is going to be okay, what a relief for you! Hope you both have a wonderful Christmas :)

huge hugs  Connie, you and your kitty are in our prayers....I hope things go well.   I don't know what I'd do if my Kali got sick :(

I know your feelings Connie, been there too...
Happy the vet seems to control it now :)

My three little devils are sending a lot of kisses to you and Tigger!!! :D

I know the guilt thing. But, honestly, kitties can go on hunger strikes simply because they decide they're tired of a food.  You're a good Mommy. You took her to someone who can help her, even if she does think you're being mean. You may have to apologize a couple hundred times to get back in her good graces, though.

Hey, long-time cat person. Believe me: they're resilient little animals. She's gonna be fine.

But lighting a candle for her nevertheless...

Oh, guys and gals, you are all so wonderful. Thank you so very much for all the kind words and good thoughts and kitty kisses. What good people and wonderful friends Tigger and I have here!

My other kitty, Bubba is hovering over me, and checking out tigger's empty spots - I keep telling him she'll be back in a day or two. He seems to be reading my moods, and calms down when I'm calm. What a good boy. He does have a little bit of a guardian streak in him :)

Quote - I know the guilt thing. But, honestly, kitties can go on hunger strikes simply because they decide they're tired of a food.  You're a good Mommy. You took her to someone who can help her, even if she does think you're being mean. You may have to apologize a couple hundred times to get back in her good graces, though.

That may very well be the case, her getting tired if the food. Few months ago we had to switch her diet to soft food, because of her digestion problem, and I've been adding medicine to her food. I thought she hasn't been noticing medicine, but maybe she has. Alsi, in spite of the medicine, she had a little bout with constipation, so she maybe stopped eating because of that. But constipation cleared on Monday - she started getting sick after that.  I dunno, I'll have to talk it over with the vet when she's discharged.

hmmm... although a cat will never admit to having a tummy ache, it does happen. Maybe ask about side effects from the medicine? Don't know about anyone else, but stomach aches make me feel like I'm dying.

Oh, poor Tigger! I'm sorry to hear she's been feeling poorly. I understand how stressful vet visits can be for both the pet and the owner. I'm always afraid my kitties will hate me for taking them to that awful place, as I obviously can't explain that I am trying to help them. But they always seem to forgive me, and get extra clingy when we get home.

Well, I'm glad she's on the road to recovery. I'll have my brood send healing purrs her way.  

best wishes that your kittie will be home soon, and for a speedy recovery.

Oh, I am so sorry about your kitty :(  Even though I have 2 grown sons, my kitty was my child when she was alive.  They drive your whole life don't they?

I heard from the vet again today.
He says she's taking the tube and the medicine well. It's hard to see any progress at this time since the treatment takes weeks, bu he says he says no reason she shouldn't recover.
She's being her usual self, sitting and observing the goings on. He says she's pretty alert - so that's good news.

Tomorrow afternoon I need to go there, and if all goes well between now and then, she can go home.  She'll have a feeding tube attached for some weeks, and I'll have to prepare special food for her, liquify it, and inject it in the tube.
The vet says I will be a tube feeding kitty momma for a while.

He ran a bunch more tests today, and he says her kidneys are in a good shape, and she is clear of diabetis (which were two major concerns, and possible causes of this). He says everything points out to just acute liver getting overwhelmed with fatty stuff because she suddenly stopped eating probably because of constipation, and because she HAS fat reserves. She's not super obese, but she is 2-3 pounds heavier then she should be. (13lb instead of 10-11lb)  I guess on a person that would be about 30-40 pounds overweight. He says chronic liver disease causing this is not likely, but he doesn't want to put her through the stress of liver biopsy till she recovers.

I had no idea this could happen when an overweight kitty stops eating. She didn't even stop eating, she just ate about 1/5th of what she normally does, and I was giving her IV fluids (He prescribed that couple of months ago to help hydrate her, with her constipation)

I give you my prayers! I know how you feel, hon. My baby Shandi was 18 when she developed kidney problems and passed away. I know how much you love her! She's a beautiful cat. I hope she pulls through!

They have nine lives, maybe she has 8 more remaining.

Lots of kisses and hugs to you and your little baby even from here in Italy. I hope she will recovery soon and perfectly.

My wife is a vet, so if you should need another opinion, feel free to ask. It's not much but we'll be glad to add this to our prayers.

Giorgio

I also have a candle going for her. We are sending thoughts her way, and yours as well. Take care of yourself too, you don't want to be sick when she gets home.   8^)

Glad to hear Tigger seems to be doing better!

My brood of eight cats (Marie, Princess, Patches, Blondie, Noon, Maureen, Nicholas, and Hemingway (a 28-toed polydactyl) are all sending "good cat vibes". 

Beth

So glad that Tigger is doing well; will say a prayer for her.  All our cats (currently four) send her their best purr!  (Including Griselda who is sitting here eating the telephone bill lol)

Your Tigger looks just like our Biff.

Cats are my favourite animals, and I'm really sorry to hear that yours is sick. I'm wishing Tigger all the best, and hope she is well soon.

 Hi Connie,

glad Tiger is doing better. I've had quite a few cats and they were all really unique in character and behavior. I just love them.

Something you might look into if you want is milk kefir. It does wonders on the digestion as it seem to be an issue with Tiger.  It worked for a friend of mine and his older dog who is doing great now.

It's very easy to do

Jean-Luc

Me and my brood are sending good wishes for a speedy recovery... And you take care as well.

YAY, tigger is home!  Exhausted and grumpy, trying to get comfortable. She has a feeding tube attached, and I have to mix her feeding liquid and water 6-8 times a day. She's also on three medications.
She has a big bandage around her throat, holding the tube in place.
...she got herself comfortable, and looks like she's falling asleep. She picked my computer chair to settle on, and I'm having to use a foldout guest chair for now LOL - but I don't have the heart to move her.

Glad she is home and recovering.  :O)

Happy she will be with you for Christmas! :D

Connie that's wonderful news. We had two kitties, Jeffrey passed away last month.  He was around when we purchased our home back in 1987 and we sort of adopted him in 95 after his brother and buddy died (we couldn't get near either of them until then).  He got lonely and decided that we weren't so bad after all (he was a double for Morris of the cat commercial).  He got to be somewhere in the neighborhood of at least 23 years old.  Walter, our younger kitty 12 plus is finally getting over him (took him 10 years to tolerate Jeffrey, tried to be the alpha cat).  However, Jeffrey was the type of kitty that just didn't care--never saw him hurt anything even a bird or mouse.  He did of course attacked a can of Fancy Feast.
 
Tigger looks like a brilliant cutie and glad that she is recovering Connie.  Jan

Thank You Vince, Thank You Plutom, Thank You Rob!
Incidentally, Fancy Feast is Tiggers favorite food, the shrimp and salmon mince, she likes to lap it up, like it's a patee! The sliced ones, why, she can't be bothered with the effort of chewing - unless it's  treat LOL.

By the way, I posted a pic of her in the galleries too, for my friends whom don't frequent the forum - it's a different pic of her.
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=1801330

She's had two feedings today, one more before I go to bed - with her medicine. She's napping in here bed, here next to my desk.  She livens up every time she smells food, but is too weak still to bother with eating.

I know, I know, I'm going on about theese boring details that only a mother-cat cares about.
Like, OMG, her whisker twittered - it's a major event!!!  Thanks for bearing with me.

I'm glad that she's home with you.  Sounds like she's picking up some energy. It takes muscles to twitch whiskers!!  nods

Give her a few chin scritches and tummy rubs for me :)

Hi Connie

Im glad your Tigger's doing okay. She looks alot like my black fur, green eyed cat minu.
Im not sure what caused her illness but nowadays you have to be very careful what you feed
your pets ( family ). That goes for human food as well with all the chemicals they add to stuff these days.

Happy Holidays
JB

heh. Yeah, the shreds get the "OMG! Mom fed me worms!" look here, too. The tomcat likes to tip the bowl over 'burying' it, so we learned to read the label carefully. Favorite around here is no salt sardines, but that's just for holiday treats.

I think you deserve Mama Kitty of the Year for everything you're doing.